Railroad-spike.



L No. 682,712.

(No Model.)

Patented sept. I7, |901.

NTE STATES PATENT FEroE.

CHARLES JOHNSON, OF ELY, MINNESOTA.

RAILROAD-SPIKE.

SEEQEFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 682,712, dated September 17, 1901.

Application filed July 6, 19 00.

To all whom, t may con/cern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ely, St. Louis county, and State of Minnesota, and whose post-office address is also that place, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Railroad-Spikes; and I do hereby declare that the following isa full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are made a part of this specification.

This invention relates to track-fastenings, and has for its objectto provide an improved Y device of this character in the nature of a spike which is constructed to overhang the llange of a rail and also provided with a brace engagement with a tie tov prevent the spike from working laterally away from the rail, the rail-overhanging portion of the spike and the brace thereof being mutually arranged so as to have a simultaneous completed engagement with the flange .of the rail and the crosstie, respectively, whereby the driving of the spike is facilitated and a strong and durable engagement with the rail is insured.

With this and-other objects in View the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, shown in the accompanyin g drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claim, it being understood that changes in the form,proportion, size, and minor details may be made within the scope of the claim without departing from the spirit or sacriflcin g any of the ad van tages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of thepimproved spike. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of a rail and a cross-tie with the spike applied in fastened position.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in both gures of the drawings.

The shank l of the spike is of the common or ordinary form, having the terminal laterally-enlarged head 2 to receive the blows of a sledge in the driving of the spike and the pointed opposite end 3 to facilitate the driving of the spike. Upon the intermediate portion of the spike and directed laterally outward in opposite directions are the opposite projections /l and 5, of which the projection l Serial No. 22,761. (No model.)

is slightly above the other projection and is designed to overhang and engage the Harige of a rail, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The rail-engaging projection 4t is upon what will be termed the inner side of the spike, or that side which is next to the rail when in use,and has its under side inclined outwardly in the direction of the head end of the'spike, while the tie-engaging projection 5 has its lower side disposed below the lower side of the former projection and arranged parallel therewith. v

In Fig. 2 of the drawings there has been shown one end portion of a cross-tie 6, which is of wood, as usual, and supported upon this tie is an ordinary rail 7, the spike being driven into the tie, so as to hold the rail thereto, with the projection 4 overhanging and engaging the flange of the rail, and the lower side and outer end portion of the projection 5 sunk into the top of the wooden tie under the effect of the blows of the sledge or'implement used in driving the spike, whereby said projection forms a brace to prevent the spike from being forced laterally away from the rail. It will be observed that the under-sides of the projections are arranged so that when the projection 4L is seated upon the flange of the rail the under side of the brace projection has' been sunk to its inner end in the top of the tie, whereby both projections are simultaneously seated, which facilitates the driving of the spike.

An important feature of the present invention resides in the fact that the lateral projections are provided upon an intermediate part of the spike, and therefore remote from the upper head portion thereof and out of possible contact by the implement used to f IOD rail-en gaging member, and the other projection forming a tie-engaging brace, the outer end thereof intersecting the under side at an acute angle and forming a Wedge.

I In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification iu the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

CHAS. JOHNSON.

Witnesses:

AUGUST PETERSON, EMIL FRIDSBERG. 

